What is Evening Primrose?
Evening primrose is a biennial weed native to North America. Evening primrose has been naturalized to Europe as an ornamental flower since around 17th century, and now found growing all over the world. For centuries, several Native American tribes ate evening primrose leaves and root as food, and also as painkiller and asthma medicine.
Evening primrose is easy to grow: it grows often taller than 5 feet. Evening primrose is a night bloomer: the flowers with strong sweet fragrance open up in the evening and close during the day during the months of June to October. The oblong-shaped, about an inch long fruits of evening primrose contain numerous tiny reddish seeds.
Evening primrose seeds or standardized oil preparations are uniquely rich in a fatty acid called gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) which has been found to be helpful for a wide range of conditions from arthritis to premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Almost half of women suffer from PMS, and reports shows that eighty-five percent of women reported that they had tried treatments for PMS, and many reported having tried multiple treatments. In Europe, especially in England, evening primrose oil is considered as an excellent medicine for PMS.
Evening primrose (seed) is rich in amino acids including essential amino acids: alanine (0.5%), arginine (1.5%), aspartic acid (1.2%), glutamic acid (2.7%), glycine (1%) histidine (0.4%), isoleucine (0.5%), leucine (1%), lysine (0.3%), methionine (0.6%), phenylalanine (0.7%), proline (0.6%), serine (0.9%) threonine (0.4%), tryptophan (up to 1.6%), tyrosine (0.4%), and valine (up to 0.8%). It contains protein (15-17%), cellulose (27%), fat (15-32%), fiber (43%), gamma-linolenic acid (0.5-5%), beta-sitesterol (1.2-2.5%), lignin (16%), linoleic acid (12-22%), calcium (1,3-1.8%), minerals and other minor components. A rather complete list of evening primrose's chemical composition can be found from Dr James A.Duke.
-Therapeutic Actions:
Numerous researches as well as "anecdotal evidences" suggest the medicinal efficacy of evening primrose products. Mainly through the action of GLA, evening primrose, and especially the oil preparation delivers following therapeutic effects:
1. Helpful for arteriosclerosis and lowers blood cholesterol levels.
2. Improves asthma, allergies, and headaches.
3. Prevention of benign prostatic hypertrophy, probably through the reported action of evening primrose oil as a potent inhibitor of 5-alpha-reductase.
4. Improves rheumatoid arthritis through the anti-inflammatory capability.
5. Above all, evening primrose oil works for PMS, including anxiety, bloating (water retention), breast soreness, depression, irritability, headaches, etc.
-Usage:
Evening primrose is most commonly taken in the form of standardized oil preparation of seeds.
Dose: Daily intake of up to two 1,300 mg capsule or 4-8 grams of evening primrose oil is suggested q.
Side Effects: Headaches and nausea has been reported as possible side effects. Patients taking phenothiazine drugs (for schizophrenia) and women at pregnancy and lactation should consult doctor before taking evening primrose.
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